UFC Events

Introduction UFC 219: Cyborg vs. Holm. December 30, 2017. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Cris Cyborg made her first UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship defence, defeating Holly Holm by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) in five rounds. Holm gave Cyborg the most competitive fight of her career in over a decade, winning a round on two of three scorecards. Khabib Nurmagomedov demolished Edson Barboza by UD (30-25, 30-25, 30-24) in the co-main, the most dominant performa

Introduction UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou. January 20, 2018. TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts — the first UFC event at the newly built venue. Stipe Miocic retained the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Francis Ngannou by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44). The win was his third consecutive HW title defence — a new UFC record. Ngannou entered as the most feared puncher in the HW division. Miocic neutralised the power with relentless wrestling, completing 6 of 14 ta

Introduction UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold. February 11, 2018. Perth Arena, Perth, Western Australia — the first UFC event in Perth and in Western Australia, after the state government overturned its ban on cage fighting. Yoel Romero defeated Luke Rockhold by TKO at 1:48 of round three with a ferocious overhand left and follow-up uppercut. Romero had missed weight at 187.7 lbs — two pounds over — meaning only Rockhold was eligible to win the interim MW title. The event was

Introduction UFC 219: Cyborg vs. Holm. December 30, 2017. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Cris Cyborg retained the UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship against Holly Holm by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) in the toughest test of Cyborg’s career. Holm became the first woman to go the distance against Cyborg in nine years. Holm bloodied Cyborg’s nose with a left hand in round one and won the first two rounds on two judges’ scorecards. Cyborg took over from round thre

Introduction UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre. November 4, 2017. Madison Square Garden, New York City. The second UFC event at MSG produced the most stunning title-fight night in the promotion’s history: three title fights, three new champions. All three champions — Michael Bisping, Cody Garbrandt, and Joanna Jędrzejczyk — left without their belts. Georges St-Pierre returned from a 4-year absence to submit Bisping in round three and win the UFC Middleweight Championship. TJ

Introduction UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2. December 2, 2017. Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan — the first UFC event at the newly built venue. Max Holloway made his first UFC Featherweight Championship defence, stopping José Aldo by TKO at 4:51 of round three. The same round as their first fight at UFC 212. Francis Ngannou knocked out Alistair Overeem with a single left uppercut at 1:42 of round one to earn the UFC HW title shot against Stipe Miocic. It was one of t

Introduction UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee. October 7, 2017. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Tony Ferguson submitted Kevin Lee with a triangle choke at 4:02 of round three to win the interim UFC Lightweight Championship. Demetrious Johnson broke Anderson Silva’s all-time record for consecutive UFC title defences, stopping Ray Borg with a suplex armbar in round five — possibly the greatest submission finish in the sport’s history. The event was the first major Las Vegas sporting ev

Introduction UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2. July 29, 2017. Honda Center, Anaheim, California. Three title fights on one card. Jon Jones appeared to knock out Daniel Cormier with a head kick and ground-and-pound at 3:01 of round three to reclaim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The result was later OVERTURNED to a No Contest by the California State Athletic Commission after Jones tested positive for turinabol. Cormier was reinstated as LHW champion. Cris Cyborg final

Introduction UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2. September 9, 2017. Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada — the first UFC event in Edmonton. Amanda Nunes retained the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Valentina Shevchenko by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) in a controversial verdict. Shevchenko issued a lengthy post-fight statement blasting the judges. The event was originally headlined by Demetrious Johnson defending the FW title against Ray Borg. Borg wa

Introduction UFC 213: Romero vs. Whittaker. July 8, 2017. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas (International Fight Week). Robert Whittaker defeated Yoel Romero by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) to win the interim UFC Middleweight Championship. It was an instant classic — five brutal rounds that saw both fighters hurt, rocked, and nearly finished. Whittaker became the first Australian UFC champion. Hours before the event, the planned main event — Amanda Nunes defending the

Introduction UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway. June 3, 2017. Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Max Holloway became the undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion, stopping José Aldo with a third-round TKO at 4:13. Holloway’s extended winning streak, begun in 2013, was now at 11. Aldo’s second reign ended in its first defence, in front of his home crowd in Rio. Both fighters had legitimate claim to the FW title. Aldo had reclaimed it as undisputed champion after Conor McGregor

Introduction UFC 211: Miocic vs. Dos Santos 2. May 13, 2017. American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas. Stipe Miocic made his second UFC Heavyweight Championship defence by stopping Junior dos Santos with a TKO at 2:22 of round one. In their first meeting (UFC on Fox, December 2014), dos Santos had won by a close unanimous decision; the rematch took 2:22 to resolve. Joanna Jędrzejczyk made her fifth consecutive WSW title defence, defeating Jéssica Andrade by UD. Demian Mai

Introduction UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2. April 8, 2017. KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York. Daniel Cormier retained the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Anthony Johnson for the second time, submitting him with a rear-naked choke at 3:37 of round two — the same finish, the same round, as their first meeting at UFC 187. The event was surrounded by controversy: Cormier initially weighed in 1.2 lbs over the 205 lb limit and was allowed a second attempt minutes la

Introduction UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2. March 4, 2017. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Tyron Woodley retained the UFC Welterweight Championship against Stephen Thompson by majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47) in the rematch of their UFC 205 draw. The fight was widely criticised as one of the most cautious WW title fights in years. The event’s most significant story played out the day before the fight: Khabib Nurmagomedov was hospitalised with weight management medical

Introduction UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie. February 11, 2017. Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York. Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) to become the inaugural UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion — the first WFW title in the promotion’s history. The fight was immediately controversial. De Randamie landed punches clearly after the bell ending rounds two and three. Referee Todd Anderson issued warnings both times but deducted

Introduction UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey. December 30, 2016. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. Amanda Nunes retained the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship by stopping Ronda Rousey with punches 48 seconds into round one. Rousey’s highly anticipated return after 13 months away ended in the second-fastest WBW title finish in history — behind only her own record finishes. Rousey had done essentially no promotional media before the fight, entering on a wave of curiosity and expecta

Introduction UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor. November 12, 2016. Madison Square Garden, New York City — the first UFC event in New York since the state’s professional MMA ban was lifted in 2016. Conor McGregor stopped Eddie Alvarez by TKO at 3:04 of round two to win the UFC Lightweight Championship. He became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two divisional titles simultaneously. Gate: $17.7M. Attendance: 20,427. Three title fights on one card — only the second time

Introduction UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis. December 10, 2016. Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada. Max Holloway stopped Anthony Pettis by TKO (body kick and punches) at 4:50 of round three to win the interim UFC Featherweight Championship — becoming the first fighter ever to finish Pettis in the UFC. His 10th consecutive win extended a streak dating back to a 2013 loss to Dustin Poirier. Pettis missed weight at 148 lbs (3 lbs over the 145 lb championship limit) and was fin

Introduction UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2. October 8, 2016. Manchester Arena, Manchester, England. Michael Bisping retained the UFC Middleweight Championship in his hometown, defeating Dan Henderson by UD (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in a five-round war. Henderson knocked Bisping down twice with his overhand right and still lost. Their first fight was UFC 100 in 2009 — Henderson knocked Bisping cold with the H-Bomb in round two in one of the most celebrated KOs in UFC histor

Introduction UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem. September 10, 2016. Quicken Loans Arena (now Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse), Cleveland, Ohio. Stipe Miocic made his first UFC Heavyweight Championship defence, knocking out Alistair Overeem with ground-and-pound at 4:27 of round one. In front of 18,000 fans in his hometown, Miocic survived an early knockdown and a guillotine attempt before closing the show. Overeem dropped Miocic with a left hand in the opening seconds and locked in